Houllier to fill Hiddink void
By Joe Bernstein and Tom Smithies
July 3, 2006
FOOTBALL Federation Australia supremo Frank Lowy has got his man, with Gerard Houllier accepting the challenge of coaching Australia, according to English newspaper reports overnight.
Houllier, who has been chased for months by the FFA at Lowy's behest, has reportedly agreed to the deal put to him two weeks ago, in which he will see out the remaining year of his contract with French club Lyon before taking over the Socceroos.
But sources in Australia last night cautioned against taking Houllier's arrival for granted until he had put pen to paper on a legally binding contract.
Current assistant coach Graham Arnold will be asked to pilot the Socceroos for the next 12 months through their Asian Cup qualifiers.
Houllier's deal will reportedly earn him a potential $20 million over four years, but much of that is dependent on the team's onfield success, specifically qualification for and success at the 2010 World Cup.
FFA chief executive John O'Neill had given Houllier until the day after the World Cup final to decide, after a courtship that has seen more twists than a teenage romance, including apparent confusion on Houllier's part over when he could seek a release from Lyon.
Accepting the offer will bring Houllier back into the international fold, 12 years after he quit the job as France coach because of their failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup.
Among the various conditions attached to the offer were that Houllier would spend at least as much time in Australia as in Europe, and that he would oversee the reform of the national coaching system that the FFA plans to instigate.
The Frenchman's background in developing the elite French academy at Clairefontaine was one of the reasons Lowy was so set on him to replace Hiddink, with the hope being he would act as a technical director in charge of coaching reform.
Houllier, often criticised for his lack of success in the English Premier League when manager of Liverpool, has been a huge success in France, taking Lyon to its fifth championship title last season.
The Daily Telegraph
By Joe Bernstein and Tom Smithies
July 3, 2006
FOOTBALL Federation Australia supremo Frank Lowy has got his man, with Gerard Houllier accepting the challenge of coaching Australia, according to English newspaper reports overnight.
Houllier, who has been chased for months by the FFA at Lowy's behest, has reportedly agreed to the deal put to him two weeks ago, in which he will see out the remaining year of his contract with French club Lyon before taking over the Socceroos.
But sources in Australia last night cautioned against taking Houllier's arrival for granted until he had put pen to paper on a legally binding contract.
Current assistant coach Graham Arnold will be asked to pilot the Socceroos for the next 12 months through their Asian Cup qualifiers.
Houllier's deal will reportedly earn him a potential $20 million over four years, but much of that is dependent on the team's onfield success, specifically qualification for and success at the 2010 World Cup.
FFA chief executive John O'Neill had given Houllier until the day after the World Cup final to decide, after a courtship that has seen more twists than a teenage romance, including apparent confusion on Houllier's part over when he could seek a release from Lyon.
Accepting the offer will bring Houllier back into the international fold, 12 years after he quit the job as France coach because of their failure to qualify for the 1994 World Cup.
Among the various conditions attached to the offer were that Houllier would spend at least as much time in Australia as in Europe, and that he would oversee the reform of the national coaching system that the FFA plans to instigate.
The Frenchman's background in developing the elite French academy at Clairefontaine was one of the reasons Lowy was so set on him to replace Hiddink, with the hope being he would act as a technical director in charge of coaching reform.
Houllier, often criticised for his lack of success in the English Premier League when manager of Liverpool, has been a huge success in France, taking Lyon to its fifth championship title last season.
The Daily Telegraph